Maricopa, Arizona, United States

Summary:

Amber Orbs over the Ak-chin reservation

Date Reported:

Sighting Time:

Day/Night:

No. of Witnesses:

Duration:

Appearance / Description of Object(s)

Large, bright amber orbs that were bigger than plane landing lights, but did not give off the same type of glow.

Distance to
Object(s) & Altitude

unknown. I'd say 35 degrees from my horizon

Description of Area / Surroundings

A busy road that dwindles in traffic as it heads towards the Sonoran Desert, open save for low mountains in the distance

Full Description & Details

04/20/06 7:43 PM : Heading South down 347 from Chandler, past Riggs Road, down towards the Ak-Chin Indian Reservation, spotted 4 (or 5) large, stationary equidistant amber orbs in a zigzag pattern. They were almost directly over the road (or, if further out than they appeared, over the Sonoran Desert Natl. Monument), though how far in the distance and at what altitude I don’t know. Twilight had almost completely faded. They were not there more than ten seconds before all the orbs disappeared at the exact same time as though someone had quickly turned down a dimmer switch to ‘off’.

Less than ten minutes later another set of lights - same color but elongated in shape and more tightly grouped/farther off - appeared in succession to the Southwest of 347 and quickly disappeared in the same order. Each would come on and soon fade out as its neighbor within the cluster followed suite. We followed 347 and then 84 west to the I8 and headed South then East, seeing them further away to the SW yet again on two more occasions for no more than 6 seconds at a time, probably over the Barry M. Goldwater Range at this point. We turned south down Stanfield Rd., eventually heading into Tohono Indian Reservation (and seeing another quick, stationary-yet fade-in/fade-out series of amber lights directly in front of us, to the south) before turning around. As we headed back north, the series appeared again (around 8:30pm), this time to our South West, perhaps back over the Goldwater Range. These were even further out, and as they faded, they seemed to become flickering white lights, far in the distance, apparently unmoving, coming and going from sight. We had stopped the car, and could hear no jet noises at all, close or in the distance, and the air was calm. When nothing more happened we headed back North to the 8 and East to the I10 for Phoenix.

While the last sets of flicking white lights may or may not have been flares, I cannot be certain either way, as they were so far off. However the first set of equidistant orbs were like nothing I have ever seen in the sky before, and the succeeding groups were almost equally large and strange, instantly striking my wife and I each time as odd.

Twice, 20 minutes apart, we saw what appeared to be shootings stars cross through the general vicinity of where the lights had just been. In any case, the events were fascinating, strange, and unmistakably ‘different.’

Can sighting be explained as any conventional man-made or natural object?

No. Th eearliest lights especially seems otherworldly or simply 'odd'. The last ones may have been flares, but it dodn't seem that way.

Witness Background

Artists/authors with degree and long retail experience living in Phoenix area for years.

Views on UFOs, before and after sighting

I've been reading 'The Phoenix Lights' and have seen several documentaries. 'The Phoenix Lights' by Dr. Lynn Kitei describes these amber orbs vs. military flares. We've been spending thursdays of the last month searching the area, as these lights have been seen on multiple occaissions in the vicinty.